


above the stars (just beyond destiny)

by asiannoodles



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Escape, Established Relationship, Fluff, Flying, M/M, Romance, Running Away Together, Secret Relationship, crystal flowers and such, space fantasy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:33:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23955403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asiannoodles/pseuds/asiannoodles
Summary: On the day that gravity falls asleep, when the ever-present moon goes to hide, is the time where Kihyun and Hoseok can finally be together.
Relationships: Lee Hoseok | Wonho/Yoo Kihyun
Comments: 15
Kudos: 31





	above the stars (just beyond destiny)

**Author's Note:**

> fic playlist :   
> [we'll be alright ( piano )](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2L2AorOW9Po) | [grand escape](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saDmN2f3HI0)

Spring is coming. Hoseok can tell by the way the air smells. He can smell it in the crystal flowers that are blooming beneath his window, only a few days away from giving off their signature glow. That's when his crystal chrysanthemums will bloom. Once they bloom they'll give off a light that can rival the stars above--his window will be lit with glowing pinks, yellows and whites. And then after they've matured some more, he can pick them and steep them to make crystal chrysanthemum tea. He's never tried it before but he hears that the taste is sweet and mild. It can heal a broken heart and it can soothe any sore head. He's heard so much about crystal chrysanthemums. Kihyun was the one who had told him so much. And Kihyun is the one that he's been nurturing them for.

It's such a shame that neither of them will get to see the chrysanthemums bloom.

Because in a couple days, it will be spring. And on the planet that he and Kihyun both live on, the beginning of spring is marked by the Starlight Solstice and that's the day where he and Kihyun have both planned to leave.

With a sigh, he gazes out his window. It's not like he hates his home planet. He's grown up here and most importantly, it's where he and Kihyun met and fell in love. He remembers the day so clearly. He remembers meeting up in the middle of the night, the bright lights from the flowers and shrubs around them threatening to give them away. He remembers how Kihyun looked then so vividly--the way his face was aglow and the way he made all of the crystal flowers around them pale in comparison. Hoseok can remember Kihyun placing a crystal carnation into his hair and then kissing him on the lips. The breeze was swift and it swirled loose crystal petals around them like shooting stars.

He loves their planet, with its crystal foliage and glowing stones. The water is always cool and it sparkles like it's been mixed with the milky way that appears above their heads whenever the sun goes down. It's beautiful, Hoseok knows, and fragile. Had he not been so attentive for the past few months, he's sure that his budding chrysanthemums would have shattered already. Everything sparkles like stardust but everything fragile, and the same goes for the people that inhibit this place with them.

"Hoseok?"

He tears himself away from the window to find his father staring at him from his bedroom doorway. He closes the glass panes and answers, "Yes?"

"What are you doing?"

Hoseok rubs his thumb against his fingers nervously as he leans away from his window. "Nothing."

"Are you still growing those flowers?"

"Yes."

His father sighs and looks away, Hoseok isn't sure where. "Well, when you're done being distracted, go help your mother strap stuff out on the porch down. The last thing we need is for our chairs to get lost again."

"Sure." Hoseok sucks in his lip and breathes out sharply as his father leaves.

Crystals are fragile but the ones who have been around longer are hardened, unbreakable. Unconvinced. And Hoseok's father is like that. He's stubborn like the frosty, clear rocks that are found on their planet. Him and everybody else it seems. Or at least, that's what Hoseok remembers thinking when he and Kihyun were caught together. He remembers how everybody's words felt like stones being thrown at them. When he sees the crystal flowers that cover the ground, he knows the pain they feel when their petals are plucked from them because that's how it had felt. That's how it had felt when he and Kihyun had been taken to their town hall and reprimanded them. That's how it felt when he was forced to stay away whenever he saw Kihyun in public.

Their secret meetings had to become even more discreet. Their touches and kisses had to become hidden away like the way a starflower would close its petals when there were no stars in the sky. And suddenly every living moment had Hoseok feeling as if he were a crystal flower himself. He wonders whether or not he would shatter in the future if he and Kihyun didn't plan to run. And looking back at his crystal chrysanthemums, he wonders how quickly they would have shattered, had the people on this planet been looking after them.

Everything beautiful here shatters. The image of this town and its people that Hoseok once thought were beautiful has also shattered and Hoseok doesn’t want to stay to let himself get hurt in the remnants. It will take much more to shatter him.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“Why do we need to strap the beds down? They’re usually heavy enough to stay down by themselves anyways.”

“Don’t you remember the year you woke up in the middle of the night with your face next to the ceiling?” Kihyun asks, snickering as he helps his baby brother tighten the legs of his bed to the floor.

His brother, Woobin, grimaces at the memory. Of course he remembers. He suffered the entire day staring at the ceiling because he couldn't come down. Continuing, he says, "Well! That was my smaller bed, I'm sure this bed is heavier. It'll stay down by itself."

Kihyun snickers as he yanks the strap on the floor and makes sure that it's tight. "You're underestimating gravity there, Woobin."

"That  _ was _ the longest night of my life..." Woobin muses as he attaches some buckles to the side of his bed. They will strap over his chest and legs when he sleeps, making sure he can't float away from his bed.

Kihyun stares at them and thinks about how his bed hasn't even been strapped down, much less the straps on his mattress. It makes him nervous, thinking about leaving. He never thought in a million light years that he would take all of his belongings into a sack and run away from this planet. All because he fell in love with Hoseok. All because of that did this town he cherished break into a million pieces.

Kihyun doesn't realize that he's spacing out until Woobin does. His thoughts are broken when he hears Woobin clearing his throat and when he looks again, Woobin is just kneeling by his bed, his hands paused with the buckles in his hand as he stares at his older brother.

"Sorry," Kihyun mutters as he goes to sit on the edge of Woobin's bed. "I'll finish helping, I promise. There's just... a lot on my mind."

Woobin smiles and rests his cheek against his bed while looking up at his brother. "I know. You don't have to help me, you know. You should finish packing your stuff. The Starlight Solstice is tomorrow.”

Kihyun smiles at him and almost feels sorry that he can’t bring Woobin with him. Woobin, the only person on this entire planet who accepted what he and Hoseok felt for each other. In a planet full of people who live life so narrow minded, Woobin is probably the only one who understands. He’s the only person besides Hoseok that knows that Kihyun is going to be leaving. 

It’s sad, Kihyun thinks. But maybe if this place weren’t so sharp with their words and gazes, he wouldn’t have to leave his beloved baby brother. 

“I want to help.” Kihyun smiles. “We never know when we’ll get the chance again.” 

Woobin frowns and gets up to sit on the bed next to Kihyun. “Do you think we will? How long will you be gone for?” 

Kihyun sucks his lower lip in and thinks that so long as this town stays sharp at the edges and made of glass, he can never return. It’s ridiculous. Their planet is known for their crystal foliage and crystals are strong, they’re minerals. He thinks the people here should reflect that but they only reflect the appearance of crystals. Why should crystal break so easily, Kihyun will never know. 

But looking at Woobin’s eyes, he pulls a smile and says, “I don’t know. But I know we’ll see each other again.”

“How do you know that?” Woobin asks, his eyes dimming. 

“Because I trust that wherever you go, you’ll know who I am. And I’ll know who you are. The moon may disappear during the Starlight Solstice but we know that the moon will always be back because we know who the moon is.” He ruffles Woobin’s hair and continues, “Trust I’ll be back and I’ll be back.”

Woobin pouts and asks, “Why does the moon have to disappear. Doesn’t it know we need it?” 

Kihyun looks up at the ceiling and lets out a breath. “Some say the moon goes into hiding once a year so that the flowers aren’t afraid to bloom. Some say that the stars want a night to themselves so the moon goes away for a night.” 

“What do you think it is?” 

“I think,” Kihyun says, his voice light, “that the moon gets scared seeing all of these flowers suddenly looking at him. So he hides and the stars spend all night trying to find him.” He grins. “That’s why gravity falls asleep--because the moon isn’t there to make sure it’s doing its job.”

Woobin laughs. “That’s funny.”

“Hey, that’s not funny--it’s true!” 

They laugh for a moment before it’s quiet again, and with a soft voice, Woobin asks, “So… where will you and Hoseok go?”

Kihyun flops backward onto the bed, letting his legs dangle off as he says, “I don’t know! Wherever gravity will let us go.”

“But gravity will be asleep, you’ll be able to go  _ anywhere,” _ Woobin says with a chuckle and poke. 

That’s exactly what Hoseok had said when Kihyun had suggested it. Gravity will be asleep so they can go anywhere in the entire universe. No moon to stop them and stars to guide their way. 

Smiling, Kihyun replies, “Yeah. Anywhere. Wherever the wind will blow us.”

“What if you go above the stars?”

“Then we’ll go above the stars.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Hoseok takes one more good look around his room before sighing deeply. The moon will set soon and the Starlight Solstice will begin. Anything not strapped or nailed down to the surface of their planet will take to the air, although Hoseok's stomach already feels as though it’s floating inside his body. But that can’t be strapped down and neither can he. He knows that his parents are already in their beds, belted tightly to their mattress so that they will not fly. 

He feels sorry towards his parents for a brief moment. It’s not long though. He can’t be sorry for very long when he remembers all the times he had to sneak out to see Kihyun or when he was trapped in his room, on the verge of tears from frustration. 

Turning around one last time, he takes in everything in his room that will be floating around in the space of it by the time he’s gone. He opens his window and memorizes the view, breathing in the clean, sharp air of his planet one more time before he says goodbye to it forever. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“Woobin?”

“Yes, mom.”

“Can you check on Kihyun? Make sure he’s got all of his things strapped down.”

“Sure.”

Woobin thinks to himself that his parents should be checking on Kihyun themselves. But after what had happened that night, when Kihyun and Hoseok were found kissing by the sparkling stream together and then dragged out for everyone to see and shame, his parents didn't talk to Kihyun anymore. 

He knows Hoseok. Hoseok was one of the kindest people Woobin has ever met. And for Hoseok to be in love with his brother, Woobin thinks is the most unavoidable thing on this entire planet. How could two people, so good and kind, not fall in love with each other? It’s so easy to recall Hoseok and Kihyun talking in the town square, their eyes sparkling like the stars above them. Who could say that they weren’t in love. 

Woobin remembers how Kihyun had looked--betrayed and hurt, terrified. He and Hoseok were kept away from each other for weeks. He can remember how Kihyun stayed in his bed for days on end, refusing to get up and refusing to eat. It’s when Kihyun looks livelier and less thin that Woobin knows that he’s seen Hoseok again. And from the way he could feel the wind coming from under Kihyun’s door frame late at night, he knows that they started sneaking out to see each other regularly again.

It’s no wonder Kihyun wants to leave this place. 

Woobin knows that the two of them aren’t doing anything wrong. So that’s why he makes sure that his parents don’t know whenever Kihyun is gone. And now, he’ll do the same thing one last time.

He opens the door to Kihyun’s room just so his parents can hear it and looks around at the empty bed and nightstand. The room is clean, per usual, only the window is open and the breeze is floating crystal leaves into the room and they float as if the moon has already set. 

Woobin sighs through his nose and then closes the door. “Yeah,” he calls out to his parents. “Kihyun has everything under control.”

And he hopes on the ever present moon that he does. He hopes and hopes that Kihyun and Hoseok come to a place where their love is loved and their love is safe. It scares him a little to think that they might end up somewhere worse.

But then he remembers what Kihyun always tells him about stars. Stars will always protect people of good hearts and Kihyun and Hoseok have more good in their hearts than some people Woobin has ever met. 

They’ll be alright, Woobin thinks. He trusts the stars.

  
  
  
  
  


“Kihyun! Kihyun!”

Kihyun peeks out from his hiding place when he hears the voice of warmth and familiarity. A voice so sweet that it melts away all of Kihyun’s worries and fears at the sound. It doesn’t even take him a second to spot the one he loves bounding towards him.

He runs out from behind rocks he had been crouched and holding his breath behind and bounds towards the one he loves.  _ “Hoseok,” _ he breathes out, his heart full.

Hoseok runs to him and envelops him with his arms, the grasp strong and tight as if he’s afraid this moment isn’t real. “I missed you,” he says, breathless. His voice is muffled against Kihyun’s neck but Kihyun can hear him all the same. “I thought this day would never come.”

Kihyun wants to say something, he wants to joke, but all he can manage is smiling so wide it feels like his face will burst. “Hoseok,” he whispers. And for some reason, that’s all he can say.

“It feels like it’s been ages since I last saw you,” Hoseok says as he pulls away, his smile brighter than the sliver of moon above them.

Laughing, Kihyun brushes Hoseok’s hair back and says, “It’s been less than a week.” 

Hoseok grins. “That’s still too long.” Kissing Kihyun on the forehead, he says, “It feels like I’ve been waiting for today for ages now. And now that’s the day is here… I don’t know!” He lets out an exhilarated laugh. “We can finally be together.” 

Kihyun knows he can’t smile any wider so he buries his face into Hoseok’s neck and laughs lightly. “I know,” he replies, the same feeling of disbelief flowering in his chest. Was there ever a day where they imagined that they could leave and be together in the open? All Kihyun knows now is that the day is finally here and it feels more unbelievable than it is. 

“I want to show you something,” Hoseok says after a moment, sniffing. He reaches into the bag that hangs across his body and pulls out a glass thermos, the liquid inside slightly pink in luminescence. 

Kihyun blinks as he holds it and asks, “What is it?”

“I know you wanted to try crystal chrysanthemum tea and it would be a shame if we left before we ever got to try it.” He looks fondly at the half bloomed chrysanthemum buds floating in the cooled tea. 

“Let’s try it.” Kihyun has excitement in his eyes. “Before we go.” 

Hoseok nods and Kihyun opens the glass bottle. He’s not sure why they’re shaking--it’s not cold. The air is comfortable and yet the two of them are shivering and their faces are flushed as if it’s winter. It makes no sense but as the two of them take turns to sip on the tea, Hoseok imagines that it’s because the moon has almost fully disappeared and this tea will be the last memory they have of the fragile planet they live on. It’ll be their last moment here together before they’re together somewhere else. They shake from the excitement and the fear, but most of all, just the relief from being able to be together. They’re not even completely safe yet but just looking at each other, sipping on tea, and thinking about how they will be able to love each other without the judgment from others is enough. Even then, they don’t know where they’re headed, but knowing that it can be better from where they are now is enough to give them jitters.

They’re silent for a few moments, letting the taste of the crystal chrysanthemums rest on their tongues as they look at each other, trying to suppress laughter for some reason.

Kihyun looks up at Hoseok expectantly, and with a short, sharp laugh, he says, “It’s okay.” 

The laughter that comes out of the two of them is short and choppy, it’s breathless and it comes straight from their throats, almost like they’re coughing it out. Hoseok thinks that it must be because their jaws are so tight from their shaking.

“Maybe it’s because I plucked them too early,” Hoseok laughs. 

“Maybe,” Kihyun agrees. His smile becomes a little sad as he says, “I don’t think we’ll ever get to taste it.” 

Hoseok nods in agreement. “Probably not.” 

“It’s okay,” Kihyun says as Hoseok puts the thermos away. “We don’t need any where we’re going. We just need each other.”

Hoseok finds the warmest, fondest smile pulling across his face and he whispers out, “Right.” 

It’s when they clasp their hands together that they look up and see that the moon is about to disappear from the sky completely. What little silvery light is left is waning away and the glow from the earth and flowers beneath them shine brighter than ever before. 

Their hearts pound faster and fast as they watch the crescent moon become a small sliver and they grasp each other’s hands tighter. 

Hoseok swallows and lets out a soft, unsure laugh. “I… I don’t know if I’m ready.”

Still looking at what’s left of the moon, Kihyun replies, “Me neither.”

“Are you scared?” Hoseok asks, looking at him.

Kihyun laughs and then looks at him and that’s when Hoseok sees that his eyes are brimming with sparkling tears. But he doesn’t seem sad. The grin on his face is the brightest it's ever been as he tightens his grip on Hoseok’s fingers.

“Yeah,” he says without hesitation. 

Hoseok feels tears welling up in his eyes as his grin also widens. “Me too,” he says under his breath. 

Kihyun lets out a half giggle and then takes a deep breath. The moon is gone from the sky. He smiles at Hoseok grandly, his pure heart shining from his face and he whispers, “Let’s go.” 

Hoseok feels the hairs on his arms rise as he stares up at the sky, void of a moon. Everything inside of him begins to float all at once and he wonders if it's the nerves. He can hear Kihyun letting out a breath and gasping, as though he’s been holding his breath forever. And it really has felt that way, as if they have been holding their breaths up until this moment. 

They don’t even realize when their feet are coming off of the ground, but all they know is that everything feels light and they can’t tell whether or not they’re breathing. The wind feels like it's pulling at them as if there’s so much to explore in the air.

Kihyun lets out breathy laughs as he looks down at their feet and the way the planet beneath them gets farther and farther away. It’s exhilarating but it’s scary, he thinks. He can’t keep his body perpendicular to the ground, he can’t feel any weight. Nothing is keeping them down.

But as the two of them begin to spread their limbs out uncontrollably, Kihyun is more grateful than he’s ever been because _ nothing is keeping them down. _ The stars shine as if they’re lighting the way to a new life and they keep their hands clasped together as strong winds gust them away from the surface. 

Hoseok lets out an exclamation but it’s replaced with laughter soon after that gets lost with the wind. It must feel this way to be a leaf in the fall, he thinks with a pounding heart. But the leaves shatter with the wind and Hoseok won’t break--he can’t when Kihyun is holding onto his hand and grinning at him while his hair flies in countless directions. 

As they’re propelled higher and higher, the winds become stronger and stronger and it’s not something they were anticipating. Kihyun’s smile begins to fade when he realizes that they have no control and the winds are pulling them apart.

“Hold on to me!” he shouts as they get pushed towards the stars.

The stars seem to chime louder as they’re flown into alignment with them but Hoseok doesn’t have time to admire them when he and Kihyun are being thrust apart. Stars are almost blinding and the wind is pulling them in so many directions. 

“Hyung!” Kihyun cries out as they crash through a cluster of stars, the sparkling dust flurrying about them.

But when another gust of wind blows star fragments right across their faces, Hoseok’s hands are struggling to stay linked with Kihyun’s and suddenly they’re blown away from each other, screaming each other’s names out as they lose purchase. 

“Kihyun!” he cries out, blinded from the starlight. He can hear Kihyun calling out to him also but he can’t see a thing when he’s tumbling around in the air this quickly. 

He’s higher than the stars, higher than he’s ever been--freer than he’s ever been--but he’s none of those if he doesn’t have Kihyun by his side. His hair whips at his face as he struggles to search around for the one he loves, the one he’s risking it all for.

“Kihyun!” he calls out desperately. “Ki, where are you?!” 

“Hoseok!” Kihyun sounds so closeby. “Hoseok, I’m here!”

When he looks, Kihyun is there, just a short distance away, but his hair and his clothes are slapping against his skin as he reaches out towards Hoseok. And in that moment Hoseok realizes that he doesn’t care where they go. They could be flying straight towards the end of the universe but it won’t matter unless Kihyun is in his arms when they are.

“Kihyun!” he screams out again.

“Hoseok!”

They’re flying so close to each other, their hands always barely missing when they get close. He can see Kihyun’s eyes from here and he’s sure that the desperation he sees is mirrored in his own eyes as well.

“Kihyun!” he cries out another time, his voice scratching from the volume and he wonders if sound travels any faster out here. He pants fast, his heart scrambling to keep up with the million thoughts that cross his mind. 

Kihyun is somehow looking right at him even though they’re being tossed in every direction, the space winds cold and the stars whizzing by. His eyes are so bright, determined, and Hoseok isn’t going to let them be separated again.  _ Never again. _

“Reach for me, Hoseok!”

And when they orbit each other like this, with stars and wind spinning them around, their hands scrambling to touch, Hoseok feels those tears well up behind his eyes as he yells out frantically, his fingers extending as far as he can until they graze the tips of Kihyun’s fingers.

The second they touch fingers, Kihyun is already grabbing onto him. He holds on tight and they fight everything around them to bring their other hands together.

“I’m here,” Kihyun says reassuringly as they grab onto each other’s forearms and pull themselves closer together. “I’m right here. We’re fine.”

Hoseok’s heart beats only faster from the relief of having Kihyun in his arms again and his tears fall from his face, beading into droplets that fly in the air with them. “No one’s taking you away from me again,” he says defiantly.

Kihyun grins and closes his eyes, bringing their foreheads to rest together. The action is so comforting, even out here in the unknown, that Hoseok feels at peace. “No one will,” he agrees, his hands tightening on Hoseok’s shoulders. He laughs when he feels droplets of Hoseok’s tears landing on his own cheeks. “I won’t let them.” And he’s not sure when he starts crying but suddenly beads of tears are escaping his eyes too.

“We’re going to be okay, right?” Hoseok asks as they fall in a direction they can’t tell. They can’t even really tell if they’re falling or if they’re just still being tossed into whatever direction the galaxy’s wind wants them to be. “Whatever happens, we’ll be fine?” 

Kihyun manages to kiss him on the tip of his nose and asks, “Are you scared?” Everything circling and whizzing around them feels loud but Hoseok can hear Kihyun clearly. 

“Yeah,” he replies, his eyes squeezing shut tighter. His only solace is Kihyun’s hands on his shoulders and his forehead against his.

“It’s okay,” Kihyun breathes with a laugh. “Me too! But we’ll be okay. The stars will protect us and we have each other. I know we’ll be okay.”

Gripping his fingers tighter on Kihyun’s shoulders, Hoseok nods. “Yeah,” he whispers.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Woobin doesn’t know if Kihyun’s okay. He hopes that he is. And he hopes that Hoseok is with him and okay also. 

Nobody talks about the two boys that disappeared from their glassy planet. No one talks about how on the night of the Starlight Solstice, there were two empty rooms without it's furniture strapped down, everything floating in the space like the two boys who had left. Nobody talks about the plucked chrysanthemum stems that still wither outside of one of the boys’ windows. 

But one day, he does hear from someone in his class that on another planet a few lightyears away, a shooting star fell and the next morning, two boys were found sleeping in each other’s arms in a field of soft flowers with glowing petals, covered in sparkling stardust. 

Nobody tells him the names of those two boys but he knows. 

He knows that Kihyun and Hoseok are alright and that someday, he’ll be able to see them again.

**Author's Note:**

> omg hi im still alive  
> its been what ? a year since i posted a kiho fic maybe? ?? lmao im garbage   
> but um yes this is very inspired by weathering with you songs and it's an au i've had in my head for a long long while so i rlly hope it came out alright! 
> 
> its been a rough year for not just me :cc but i think things are looking up !!! i think that's why ive been getting my writing drive back and im so happy to be writing and posting again ;; v ;; !!! i love kiho how can i not u know and im trying out new things writing for victon too im just rlly happy lately ; v ; 
> 
> anyways !!!! thank u for reading!!! remember to hype up mx's next comeback !!! stream if u can!!!! ; V ; i hope u enjoyed! <3333 pls leave me a nice comment while ur here! <3
> 
> i'll be back w more kiho i promise :>>   
> i'll see u till then !!!! see u next time !!! <333


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